Monster Madness – Knight of the Red Scale – Part One

Her hand tightly wrapped around the hilt of her sword, she keeps it out in front of her ready to lunge at whoever approaches. However, nobody appeared in her line of sight. After a few silent moments she slowly brings her weapon to her side, “I think this cooling serum is getting to my head. I could have sworn I heard a voice right now.”

“You did.”

Realizing the voice came from above, Valkyria looks up and sees a quick moving figure leaping off of a cliff overhead and landing a few feet in front of her. Valkyria’s sword quickly come back up and looks at who’s been watching her, “Explain yourself!”

The figure’s barely covered in any clothing, seeming to only be dressed in armor created from red and brown scales that resembles a raging flame. Although the armor itself doesn’t protect most of her body, it does have the basic of an entire set: gauntlets, greaves, faulds with a waist belt, and shoulder armor. As for her breastplate, it’s nothing but a brassiere covered in scales. Resting along the ground is a large tail covered in similar scales. The figure is clearly a creature of the native lands, but still has human characteristics, mostly giving way to the appearance of a woman. Under the harsh lighting from the red sky, the woman’s skin appears as a dark red and their eyes bronze in color. Her hair color almost matches her skin, but shines in its layers reaching half way down her back.

Seeing a potential foe in front, Valkyria asks again, this time with anger, “Explain yourself.”

“I should be asking you that,” the red-skinned woman replies, “considering the fact that you’re in my territory. So, let me ask: what are you doing in the mountains?”

“I’m here just to collect some Hard Lava Ore. I’m having my personal equipment reinforced and repaired by a blacksmith in a town past the woods. I’m not here to pick a fight.”

Taking Valkyria’s words to thought, the woman narrows her eyes as she’s observing her, “You’re dressed as a knight, though.” She focuses on the basic design of Valkyria’s silver steel armor, as there’s no emblems or insignia specifying her ranking. She takes in a big sniff of an aromatic scent that slowly drifts towards her nose, “However, I can smell the experience on you. You’re obviously not the average skilled knight if you came here alone.”

“And what of it?”

A small smile creeps up on the woman’s face, “That means you’re strong. And I’ve been wanting to test myself for quite some time.” Reaching back, the woman grabs a heavy sword strapped to her back. Its hilt it wrapped in a thick cloth, but it’s barely visible through the giant gauntlet that holds it. The blade itself is massive, easily the size of three swords merged together. The steel shines brightly, but its edge seems to be forged of a different material mixed in, one of smokey black color.

Blade’s edge on the ground behind her, the woman offers a deal, “How about this? If you can beat me, I’ll take you to the largest ore deposit here. I’ll even help you carry some back as an extra.”

Giving herself more room Valkyria jumps back and goes on the defense. At first, she saw then woman as a threat. After hearing her words, she can feel a strong sense of honor and pride coming off of the woman. “And if I lose?”

“You get the hell out of my mountain range. Deal?”

“A test of strength. It’s been a while since I’ve had a duel. I accept.”

With a loud rallying cry the red-skinned woman locks her grip around her massive blade and charges head first at Valkyria, a gallant smile on her face, “Bring it, human!”

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